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Fi t t ing Here's the place to get some answers to your fitting questions. If you have a better solution than the one we've given here, please write and tell us. Send your questions (include photos, if possible), comments, and solutions to: Fit, PO Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506; or via e-mail: th@taunton. com. Threads Sleeve wrinkles Why do some set-in sleeves have deep diagonal wrinkles Jrom the shoulder to the underarm (see the drawing at right) instead oJ hanging perJectly straight? -Carole Dahlstrom, Marlborough, MA The most likely cause for sleeve wrinkles above the elbow is a sleeve cap that's too short for you, says dressmaker Susan Bennett. This prevents the sleeve's crossgrain from hanging parallel to the floor, and creates diagonal wrinkles in both front and back because the shoulder is pulling up on the top of the sleeve. Since it's hard to predict when this problem will occur by simply looking at the pattern, and because it doesn't matter what fabric you'll be using for the final garment (as it does for many fitting problems), I think it's best to assume the cap is always too short for you and prepare for this problem by making the follOwing adjustment to every set-in sleeve, as shown in the drawings at lower right and on p. 22. Cut out your sleeves in the fash- ion fabric so there's a 1 \4-in. seam allowance across the cap, then thread-trace or chalk the original seamline, notches, shoulder dot, and crossgrain at the start of the underarm seam, which is called the biceps line. Now construct the sleeve as you normally would and baste it into the armhole follOwing the original seamline. kles appear, and! or the biceps line is tilted up, release the sleeve from notch to notch (or more if needed) and lower it until the biceps line is parallel to the floor and the wrinkles disappear. Pin and mark the new seamline. 1£ 20 TH READS the wrinTransfer the changes to the pa- per pattern by cutting on a line just above the notches, perpendicular to the grainline. Spread the cap by the amount you dropped the sleeve at the dot, then blend in the curves, as shown at bottom. The correc- tion is exactly the same for a twopiece sleeve, but make sure you true the underarm piece's cap seam so it flows smoothly into the new seam on the outer piece. Diagonal sleeve wrinkles can also result from a mismatch of the DIAGONAL SLEEVE WRINKLES These wrinkles usually result from sleeve caps that are too short for you. The crossgrain will usually also be pulled upward. Crossgrainj biceps line To lengthen cap 1. Cut sleeve with 1'A-in. seam allowance. 2. Mark seam line, shoulder dot, notches, and biceps line. 3. Construct sleeve, pin in place, then release seam from notch to notch, allowing dot and biceps line to drop until biceps line is parallel to floor and wrinkles are eliminated. 4. Correct pattern by slashing at notches and spreading by amount of dot drop. True seamlines. 1 o c True.